Recently it has been the practice in construction of hand luggage to mount a caster or roller thereon to assist the user in the transporting thereof. Heretofore hand luggage cases which incorporated a caster thereon had been constructed such that the caster assembly was formed as a permanent part of the luggage case. Usually in such construction the caster extended outwardly of the luggage case and oftentimes resulted in inconveniences in the carrying or in the storing thereof. Thus it has been found as a practical matter that casters are not always desirable in many instances of use of the luggage.
Prior to the instant invention, some efforts have been made to provide detachable caster assemblies for hand luggage cases, and one such construction is illustrated in the patent to FEINBERG, U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,570. The caster assembly as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,570, does provide for detachably connecting a mounting plate assembly to a corner of a luggage case, but the mounting plate assembly as illustrated in the aforesaid patent is secured to the exterior wall of the luggage case, and thus permanently protrudes outwardly therefrom. Since the mounting plate assembly as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,570 does extend externally of the luggage wall, it is clearly visible and tends to detract from the ornamental appearance of the luggage case. Further, the mounting plate assembly as illustrated in the aforesaid patent includes apertures for receiving mounting tabs of the wheel assembly, and when the wheel assembly is removed from the mounted position thereof, the apertures therein are exposed to enable debris to filter into the apertures for collection between the case wall and the mounting plate assembly. The prior known construction also includes additional openings in the mounting plate assembly for receiving a spring element, and the additional openings as formed in the mounting plate assembly also enable dirt, debris or water to infiltrate therethrough for collection interiorly of the mounting plate assembly. Since the mounting plate assembly as utilized in the prior known construction illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,570, is mounted in place by externally visible rivets, the entire assembly including the rivets are formed as a permanent part of the luggage exterior and hence detracts from the ornamental appearance thereof. The construction as illustrated in the aforesaid patent is also objectionable since the mounting plate is subject to be dislodged from its mounted position when the roller or caster thereof accidentally strikes an abutment or rut.
It is the purpose of the present invention to overcome the objectionable features of the detachable caster shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,570 and to further provide a unique detachable roller assembly that can be conveniently mounted in place and disassembled therefrom as required.
The above-referred to patent to FEINBERG, U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,570 represents the best prior art known to applicants to which the subject invention pertains.